


You Belong With Me - A Pepperony AU

by akasharpiegirl



Series: You Belong With Me - A Pepperony AU [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Additional Warnings to Be Added, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Kid Pepper Potts, Kid Tony Stark, Maria Stark Lives, Maria Stark's A+ Parenting, Maria Stark's Good Parenting, More characters to be added later, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, Pepper Potts Feels, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, They’re kids, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, because I said so, obviously, or lack thereof, pre pepperony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28445031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akasharpiegirl/pseuds/akasharpiegirl
Summary: Take a trip down memory lane with the sweethearts that met one fateful day on the swing set during recess.
Relationships: Maria Stark & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Maria Stark, Pepper Potts & Original Character(s), Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Father, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Mother, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Siblings, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Original Character(s), Tony Stark & Pepper’s Father, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Mother, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Siblings
Series: You Belong With Me - A Pepperony AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083581
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	You Belong With Me - A Pepperony AU

**Author's Note:**

> Additional tags/warnings to be added. Please check back to the first chapter periodically to see if any warnings have been added. 
> 
> As of the first chapter, I can only recall two things: childhood bullying and minor cases of arguing. Please proceed with caution or not at all if this may be triggering for you. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**[October 9th, 1987]**

**Pepper:**

Seven year old Virginia  ‘ ~~Pepper~~ ’ Potts sat on the metal swing set alone as the rest of the seven year olds at her school were running around, climbing on the monkey bars, or who knows what else during recess. She kicks the balls of her shoes into the sand aimlessly when—out of the corner of her eye—she sees a kid that she recognized from her table group walk over and sit on the swing right next to her. 

“Hi,” he says. 

She looks up at him with a guarded expression before speaking up, “If you’re comin’ over here to bully me, you can go.” He had dark brown hair and eyes. He was wearing a blue and red Mickey Mouse shirt, she noticed. 

“Huh?”, he asks. “Why would I do that? No, you seemed kinda sad. I dunno.” He points across the playground. “I was over on the bench.” He has somewhat of a lisp, his ‘the’ sounded like ‘duh’. 

“Oh, um, thanks,” she lets out the tiniest smile. “You’re Anthony, right?”

“I like Tony better,” he nods. “I, uh… I don’ think I know yours, sorry...”

“Well, it’s nice to meet ya Tony,” she says. “I’m Virginia.” 

He scrunched up his face when he heard that, “No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?”, she asks. “That’s my name!”

He grins at her, “I’m gonna call you Pepper.” One of his top teeth was missing when he smiled.  _ That’s where the lisp came from. _

“Pepper?”

“‘Cause of your freckles,” he insists. 

“My freckles?”, she repeats. 

He hums as he kicks his feet against the sand, but not enough to make the swing move.

“Why my freckles?”, Pepper asks, giving him an unconvinced glance. She can feel and see the ends of her long ginger hair that was pulled back in a red scrunchie brush against her left shoulder. “Sarah and her friends make fun of me for them. Ever since pre-k. My mom says they are adorable, but I don’t see it.” 

“Well, your Mom’s right and Sarah’s crazy,” Tony shakes his head. “My mama has some and I think she’s beautiful. Your freckles are cute.”

“Thank you,” Pepper grins back at him. 

He abruptly stops kicking his feet and looks back at her, “Wait. I think you live next door to me.”

“Huh?”

“I moved there when I was three. There’s a redhead that gets off of the school bus at the house next to me. She has two brothers and a baby sister. That you?”, Tony asks. “My Mama brought over food one time.”

_ Pepper was quietly playing with her toys in the living room when there’s a knock at the door. She keeps a grip on her Piglet plushie, eyes darting to her father, who was half asleep in the armchair.  _

_ “Daddy,” she says in a whisper as she walks over to him. “Daddy, somebody’s at the door.” _

_ “Thank you, sweetheart,” Jack, her father, says to her before yawning and standing up.  _

_ Pepper follows closely behind, hiding behind her Dad’s legs as he opens the door to an unfamiliar face holding a container of food.  _

_ “Hi, I’m Maria Stark. I'm friends with who I assume is your wife… erm, Elaine? I work with her, at the bank. I thought I’d drop off a chicken casserole to make it easier on the family now that you have an extra human to take care of,” the unfamiliar face—Maria—said. “I’d hope your eldest would at least like it, I know my son does.” _

_ “Thank you, Maria,” Jack takes the dish from the woman.  _

_ Pepper looks up at her father, “Daddy, what’s that?” She uses her hand that held onto her Piglet plushie to point to the food in question. _

_ “It’s dinner, kiddo,” Jack says to her quietly. He looks back up to Maria. “Virginia’s really shy, but curious. Quite a concoction of a personality for a kindergartner if I’m honest.” _

_ Maria smiles at the five year old before looking back at Jack, “My son, he’s five too. Very talkative. Maybe they could have a playdate once the dust settles for you and your family.”  _

_ “Maybe so,” Jack nods.  _

_ “Again, congratulations on the new addition to the family. I hope she brings you all great joy,” Maria says before walking back toward her home while Jack shuts the door with his free hand. _

“That was your Mom?”, Pepper’s face scrunched up as she thought. “She’s really sweet, gave it to my Daddy after ‘Manda was born. She talked ‘bout you.”

“Mhm, that’s my mom,” Tony hums, there’s a small frown etched on his face. “I don’t have a Dad, though. It’s just me and my Mom.”

“I’m sorry,” Pepper frowns. “What’s your favorite Disney movie?” She switches the subject, pointing to his shirt before grasping back onto the swing chain. “Mine’s Sleeping Beauty. It’s my Mom’s favorite and kinda looks like Aurora too.” When she says Aurora, it comes out like ‘uh-woah-uh’. 

“I’ve never seen it.”

“We’ve got it on VHS,” she says. “You need to see it!”

His smile returns, “Okay.” He pauses. “Don’t laugh at mine.”

“Why would I laugh?”

“I dunno,” he mumbles. “I like Winnie the Pooh. Tigger’s my favorite.”

“No way!”, Pepper exclaims. “That’s the first movie I ever saw! Piglet’s the best though.”

“Nuh-uh,” he disagrees. “Tigger is  _ totally  _ better than Piglet.”

“You’re nuts,” she shakes her head. 

“No I am not!”, he giggled. “Whaddya wanna do? Like when you’re all grown up?”

“I dunno,” Pepper shrugs. “I like yelling at my brothers for breakin’ the rules, but that’s not a job.”

“You never know,” Tony grins. “You could be a teacher. Miss H yells a lot, at least when talkin’ to me.”

“That’s ‘cause you don’t do what she asks. Miss Hackle never yells at me,” Pepper snarks. “What do you want to do?”

He gives a small shrug, “I’m good at science and math, according to Mama. Maybe somethin’ with that.”

“The good thing is, you both are still kids. You’ve got time,” Miss Hackle says as she stands in front of them. “I didn’t know what I was meant to do until I was a sophomore in college, and that’s a long ways away for you two. Ready to head on back?”

———

The school bus stops in between their houses, and Pepper hops off the bottom step first, Tony following behind her. The two hug before Pepper skips to her porch, where her Dad sat in the rocking chair. 

“Daddy!”, she exclaims as she hops up on the porch.

He motions for her to come sit in his lap before saying, “There’s my big girl! How’d school go today? Good? Bad? Tell me everything.”

Pepper sits her backpack on the patio table next to her Dad and he helps her up to sit with him. “It was great! I finished the new book I got on Wednesday! We’re going to the library on Monday, too. Miss Hackle thinks I can move on to more chapter books now. And I made a new friend and he’s really nice! Funny, too.”

“A boy, huh?”, Jack baffles. “You know you’re not allowed to date until you’re thirty, right? Seven year olds should just have friends anyway.”

“I know,” Pepper nods. 

“What’s  _ his _ name, hm?”, he asks. 

“Oh, it’s Tony,” Pepper explains. “Anthony. He lives next door.” She points to the right of their house, spotting her new friend babble to his Mom on his porch. 

“Ah, Maria’s little boy,” Jack says. “That’s nice, Ginny. I’m glad you made a friend. Anybody else or just him?”

“Just him,” Pepper shrugs, before laying the side of her head on his shoulder. “I missed you, Daddy.”

“I missed you too, baby girl. Every single day, I do,” Jack murmurs. “You’re gonna have to tell your Mom and me all about your day when she gets home soon with your siblings. You hungry?”

Pepper nods. 

**———**

**Tony:**

“I made a friend today,” Tony says after eating a snack that his mother prepared for him.

Maria turns around to face her son, “Oh, yeah? Are they nice?”

He hums, “Mhm. Her name’s Virginia. I call her Pepper though, it fits her more.”

“Pepper? How come?”, Maria raises a brow at the statement.

“Her freckles,” Tony nods. 

“Hm, interesting. This the same little girl from next door?”, Maria inquires, as she sits down next to him. 

“Yeah!”

“That’s wonderful, Tony,” she smiles.

“But she thinks Piglet’s better than Tigger,” he pouts. “That’s just not true!”

“Wanna know a secret?”, Maria muses.

He scrunches up his face at the question, “What?”

“I prefer Owl,” Maria teases. 

“Mama!”, he gapes at the statement. 

“I’m just teasing, buddy,” she grins at her son. “Got any homework over the weekend?”

He shakes his head, “Finished it on the bus. Really easy.” 

“Good deal,” she says. “Let me know if you need me to look over anything.”

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, life’s been kinda crappy... wanted to drop something before 2021 and this is what I’ve got ready for y’all. Please leave kudos, a comment, or share if you liked it. These interactions mean a ton to me.
> 
> Please follow me on Twitter (evermorestarks) or tumblr (akasharpiegirl) for more updates regarding this series and others alike!


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